NASA plans to begin returning Crew 8 on Wednesday

NASA has announced that it will deploy Crew-8 from the International Space Station today to allow the four astronauts making up the crew to begin their return to Earth:

NASA and SpaceX now plan for the agency’s Crew-8 mission to depart the International Space Station aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft no earlier than Wednesday, October 23, at 5 p.m. EDT. Undocking on Wednesday would have resulted in a water disaster on Friday, October 25th.

Meteorologists have noted an improvement in expected weather at some landing sites off the coast of Florida and are continuing to monitor conditions, taking water splashes into account and the exact timing.

NASA, October 22, 2024

The agency added that there was another weather briefing this morning. The specific location of the splashdown has not been announced, but it will be either in Florida waters in the Gulf of Mexico or off the east coast of Florida.

The weather over the past two weeks hasn’t exactly had a positive impact on spaceflight plans here in Florida, with hurricane- or wind-related launch delays and delays in Crew 8’s return from the ISS. Last month, the return of the Polaris Dawn crew was also delayed due to weather.

Fortunately, forecasts appear to be changing in favor of takeoffs and landings. Space Launch Delta 45’s 45th Weather Squadron reported in its launch forecast for Starlink 6-61 (also scheduled for Wednesday, October 23) that “launch conditions are improving for Thursday.” [a hgh pressure] A ridge is forming over the Florida Peninsula, reducing wind speeds and letting in even drier air. The weather will be very favorable and the risk of weather violations is negligible [for launching.]“The calmer skies will probably also benefit the Crew-8 astronauts.